Charmaine was raising her children in the same Portland neighborhood where she was raised. They went to the schools she went to and the family was part of the community. They lived in their house with a backyard big enough for a trampoline for seven years. Charmaine was a good tenant and there had never been any issues. After she asked for some repairs to the house, though, she faced every Oregon renter’s worst fears: she received a “no cause” eviction notice.

State law allows property managers and landlords to evict with no reason and tenants have no recourse. In a flash, Charmaine’s home was gone. She was unable to find a home in her neighborhood or even in her town. Her family had to move across the river to Vancouver and her children are in new schools, far from the community they grew up in.

This story is being replayed across Oregon. Our inflated housing market encourages landlords to take advantage of these no-cause evictions, leaving renters with few options.

House Bill 2004 will limit the unfair no-cause evictions that are happening to families like Charmaine’s. It has passed the House of Representatives and is now going through the Senate. Unfortunately, deep-pocketed and powerful special interests have launched an attack against the bill, trying to stop it before it can get to the Governor’s desk to become law.